Effective as soon as June 1, 2017 the USA Business Platinum airfare Pay-with-Points refund will be reduced to 35%. The effective date of the change will reportedly depend on when the Business Platinum card account was opened. This brings the net value to $0.0153 per point, essentially the same as Chase Sapphire Reserve's Pay-with-Points redemption rate.

USA Business Centurion cardholders will continue to receive a 50% refund. The Centurion version is also broader than the Platinum benefit:

Centurion: beginning October 6, 2016 you will get 50% Membership Rewards® points back when you use the Pay with Points feature for all or part of a flight on any airline. The maximum rebate per calendar year for Centurion members is (_______?)

Platinum: Business Platinum Card Members will receive 5 extra points for every 10 points they redeem for either a First or Business class flight on any airline, or for flights with their selected qualifying airline using Membership Rewards Pay with Points with American Express Travel (50% 35% Airline Bonus). The maximum rebate per calendar year for Business Platinum Card Members is 500,000.

Q2. Must the Business Centurion or Platinum card be used to purchase the ticket?

A2. When the benefit was refreshed in October 2016 you could pay with any card linked to the same Membership Rewards account, but it appears this changed in April 2017. (There is not good data because posting of refunds abruptly slowed from a couple of days to several weeks.)

Q3. Will I earn Membership Rewards points on the purchase price?

A3. You will not earn base points, but you may earn bonus points if you pay with a card that awards a bonus for airline ticket purchases, such as Business Platinum, Personal Platinum, Business Rewards Gold, Premier Rewards Gold.

Q4. What happens if I cancel the ticket?

A4. There are mixed reports, but in most examples the cost of the ticket is refunded (a second time) to the card account. In one example American Express refunded the remainder of the points instead.

Q5. Can this benefit be combined with the International Airline Program companion ticket?

A5. One poster was told no, but another was able to do so. IAP sells the first ticket at full price, and collects taxes and fees on the second. Begin reading HERE to understand the successful example. Read forward to at least post 282 to fully understand the arithmetic and tradeoffs versus buying discounted tickets or using mileage awards.

The newest concern for me is with the 35% rebate turnaround time. Initially, it was very quick. Then it increased to 31-32 days. Now data points are starting to show up thread of 6 to 10 weeks delays. I haven't yet decided if this would represent a deal breaker for this card for me. Even though, technically, each point would still be worth $1/65, it would introduce airline ticket volatility as a potential neutralizer to this benefit—especially for people who need to book multiple fares on the same flight. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that 32 days delay is still valid.

You should call Amex (assuming you haven't already). Something is definitely wrong.

Yes, still waiting on it.. Followed up today... When I made this redemption it was over the phone since the J fare couldn't be redeemed on the online portal so I had to do it manually over the phone with rep(fee waived of course since it was showing on google flights). It was an Avianca redemption so who knows if maybe the system didn't trigger it for some reason. But it was a substantial amount of points to the tune of crediting back 100K.

If you can't book it via their online portal and it's showing on google flights I've always been able to get them to waive the fee. (that's why I said of course) probably have done this 4-5 times in the past 2 years so of course YMMV.

Based on the comments here and the low satisfaction with the agents, the inability to use the online portal should be a major or only reason to seek their assistance. Thus everyone should be getting the fee waiver.

I guess I shouldn't be worried if I booked with PWP on Feb 25 then. I got the confirmation email saying my flight booked earns 35% back but didn't mention anything about how long. I guess I'll wait it out for 30 days before I start making some noise

If I've got an itinerary with 4 segments, 3 out of 4 segments are DL-marketed and operated, and 1 segment (first of return) being Aeromexico-marketed but DL-operated, how would that play out with the 35% rebate? Since it's likely going to be ticketed by DL I should be ok getting the full 35% on the whole ticket?

There is another identical itinerary that is all DL-marketed, but that one costs a few hundreds more.

Data Point - I have a Biz Plat and Gold Personal. Both tied to the same MR account. Made a purchase with my (Biz Plat) selected airline using the Personal Gold card and still received the 35% rebate. I've done this twice in 2019.

Tried to find the answer in this thread but didn't - how does this work with the BGR as you can't select an airline...is it 25% rebate ONLY on Biz/First airfare with any airline? Is this perk advertised anywhere on AMEX or AMEX Travel's website? I can't seem to find anything official

Incidentally, the annual fee difference between the Biz Plat and the Biz Gold is $300. If you are primarily going to use MR points to pay-with-points, it takes 146,250 points to break even with the 35% points back of the Plat compared to the 25% for Gold. That doesn't take into consideration the $200 air travel credit and the 2x $100 Dell credits available to Plat members. I had considered downgrading to Biz Gold but elected to stick with the Biz Plat for this reason. Of course, if that 4x points of the Biz Gold hits a spend sweet spot, then that would have to be factored in as well.

Incidentally, the annual fee difference between the Biz Plat and the Biz Gold is $300. If you are primarily going to use MR points to pay-with-points, it takes 146,250 points to break even with the 35% points back of the Plat compared to the 25% for Gold. That doesn't take into consideration the $200 air travel credit and the 2x $100 Dell credits available to Plat members. I had considered downgrading to Biz Gold but elected to stick with the Biz Plat for this reason. Of course, if that 4x points of the Biz Gold hits a spend sweet spot, then that would have to be factored in as well.

Ah, yes, I got the BGR just before the switch over to the redesigned BG...hmm wonder if I even get this points benefit with the older version - I'm guessing no